LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORS GORMAN FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK

Oct. 6: St. Lawrence University first year forward Brendan Gorman was named “Co-Rookie of the Week” by the Liberty League for the second consecutive week and the third time on Monday, as the rookie was integral in the Saints men’s soccer team’s 3-2 double overtime win against conference opponent Clarkson on Saturday afternoon.

Gorman (Ottawa, ONT/St. Mathew) had a three point game as he tallied the game winner, his second of the season, and added an assist on the go ahead goal to help lift the Saints over the Golden Knights. His goal came in the second overtime period with just 7:50 remaining in the game.  The rookie has tallied at least three points for St. Lawrence in each of the last four weekends, and had scored at least one goal in two of the Saints' three conference contests.  He currently has a team high 15 points with five goals and five assists, tied with junior Emmanuel Mbong (Norman, OK/Norman), making him one of the biggest offensive threats in the Liberty League.

St. Lawrence, who is tied for second in the conference, will head into a big weekend as they hit the road to face Rensselaer and Vassar.  Their contest with the Red Hawks is scheduled to begin at 4:00pm in Troy, NY.

DOUBLE OVERTIME GOAL GIVES SAINTS 3-2 WIN OVER CLARKSON

Oct. 4: First year Brendan Gorman scored the game winning goal in double overtime on Saturday to lead the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team to a 3-2 victory over North Country rival Clarkson in Liberty League action on Clarkson Field.

The Saints improve to 7-4-0 overall and 2-1-0 in the conference, while the Golden Knights lose their third straight in-conference game, evening their overall record at 5-5-1 and 0-3-0 in the Liberty League.

 
While Gorman (Ottawa, ONT/St. Mathew) had the game winner, senior forward Kiel Dwyer (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate H.S.) scored his second goal of the season, while sophomore back James Stewart (St. Davids, ONT/Sir Winston Churchill) tallied his third.  Both Stewart and senior midfielder and co-captain Paul LaMarca (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain) assisted Gorman, while rookie midfielder Alex Soto (Lorton, VA/South Country Secondary) grabbed his first collegiate point after assisting Dwyer’s goal.

The game started with impressive intensity on both sides of the field, but it was Clarkson that was able to deliver first as Golden Knight Scott Desmond scored his fifth goal of the season when an initial stop by Saints keeper and co-captain Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QUE/Marianapolis College) found its way down to the ground in a precarious position in close. Clarkson’s Tobin Boomer earned an assist on the goal, which gave the home team a 1-0 edge.

The Saints continued to fight throughout the half and scored with just over a minute remaining in the period as Soto sent a cross through traffic across the box, finding the foot of Dwyer, who then sent it back into the far corner past Clarkson keeper Mike St. Croix for the equalizer just in time to end the half.

The Scarlet and Brown controlled the tempo of play early on in the second half and finally got up on their neighborhood rivals with under 15 minutes to play as the squad went off on a break with Stewart leading the charge, taking a hard shot from about 15 yards out that snuck under St. Croix for the 2-1 lead in the 76th minute.

While the momentum was with the Saints offense, a mishap in front gave Clarkson an opportunity to tie the game. With the play down near the sideline, a cross was sent over near the top of the penalty area. Coletta came out to stop the play, but couldn't handle the bounding ball and Clarkson’s Brian Buckner took a hard shot into an open net from 18 yards away to tie the score at 2-2 at the end of the 85th minute to force the teams into overtime.

After a scoreless first extra session, a seemingly harmless throw-in by Stewart proved to be anything but that.  The sophomore made a strong throw into the penalty area from the far sideline, where LaMarca skipped the ball off his head right to the foot of Gorman, who popped the ball into the net for the game-winner with 7:50 remaining in the second overtime to end the game with a critical 3-2 conference victory.

Coletta made one save for the Saints and St. Croix stopped five shots for Clarkson. St. Lawrence had a 16-11 shot advantage and took six corner kicks to the Knights' three.

St. Lawrence will travel to the Albany area next weekend as they will face conference opponents Rennselaer and Vassar on Friday, October 10th and Saturday, October 11th, respectively.  Friday’s game is scheduled to begin at 4:00pm.